Posts Tagged With: ribs recipe

I’ve had quite a few folks end up on my blog after searching for country-style pork rib recipes so I figured I might do another. Plus, this is one flavorful and easy cut to grill up when you don’t have much time to throw together dinner. After arm-wrestling the boy for what seemed like a century over his homework the other day, I honestly was debating making a few cocktails my dinner. Since I’m pretty sure our health insurance won’t cover a trip to the Betty Ford Center, I figured I should get cracking on a family meal.

I started by placing my lovely little pork ribs…

… in the same brine bath I used last time — 1/4 cup kosher salt and 1 tbsp sugar dissolved in 1 cup of water. They went back in the fridge for two hours. (There ended up being too much salt for my taste, so I would recommend just 30 minutes in the brine.)

While they brined, I mixed up my rub: 1 tbsp each salt and pepper, plus 1 tsp each cumin, paprika, onion powder, brown sugar and chili powder. (If you don’t keep all of those on hand, then go with what you have — even if it’s just salt and pepper.)

I fired up my gas grill to cook over direct heat at 400 degrees. I pulled my ribs out of the fridge, patted them down with some paper towels, and covered them in rub. They sat on the counter for about 30 minutes, coming to room temperature.

In the meantime, I put together my lazy version of Chipotle BBQ sauce: 3/4 cup BBQ sauce of your choice, 1/4 cup honey, and 1-2 chipotles in adobo sauce. (You can also substitute ketchup for the BBQ sauce and add a bit more honey and spice.)

When the ribs were ready to go on the grill, I laid them on and left them for 3 minutes. Then I flipped them over and basted the tops with my sauce. After four minutes, I flipped them again and basted the other side with sauce. Another minute and they were ready to come off the grill and rest.

A simple side of baked beans and dinner was served. Hallelujah and pass the chardonnay!

I have seen many recipes over the past few years for grilled romaine salads, usually Caesar salad. I always thought they were interesting. I probably tore about three or four out of magazines and stuffed them in one of the (many) recipe piles that litter my home office. But, alas, I had never tried one.

This weekend I was looking for an easy side I could throw on my Big Green Egg while my main dish rested. (A super-delish and easy pork chop I will share soon.) So my side needed to cook quickly. Scanning a new cookbook, I found a healthy version of the grilled Caesar salad and figured I would give it a spin.

I am a big fan of pre-prep so that I don’t lose my mind trying to get everything to come out at the same time. So I made the dressing earlier in the day. (Of course, you can always just use your favorite bottled Caesar dressing.) I put the following ingredients (adjusted slightly from the original recipe) in my mini food processor and whirled them together:

Juice of 1 small lemon or 1/2 large

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil mayonnaise

2 anchovies or 2 tsp anchovy paste

1 tsp Worcestershire (I subbed Pickapeppa)

6-8 turns of black pepper mill

1/4 cup olive oil

1 garlic clove

Once I had my Green Egg at about 450 degrees — you could go with as low as 350 — I chopped my romaine heads in half, rinsed them, patted them dry, and brushed them with olive oil. They already looked pretty tasty.

On the grill they went and in about 3-4 minutes, they were done to my liking — you can leave on longer if you want more char.

I drizzled with the dressing, sprinkled on shredded parmesan, and topped with a bit more ground black pepper. The second night I also threw a few capers on for fun.

About as easy as it gets in terms of effort and yet impressive on the plate — can’t beat that with a stick. Give ’em a try.